How did it get to be December?

How did it get to be December? I swear it's only August. I just blinked and boom I hear Chicago singing Jingle Bell Rock on the radio! Hate it when that happens. Not hearing Chicago, but having the end of the year rush toward me so fast I feel like I'm driving Doc Brown's DeLorean.

One thing about December, though, is it's time for me to take stock in what I've accomplished this year. I wrote and published two stories with the Naughty Literati. Blue Plate Special came out in Naughty Flings and then Moon Dance made its first appearance in Naughty Escapes. I'd intended to have a new story in that universe ready for Naughty Reunions but the story just didn't pan out. Nothing wrong with the story itself just that it didn't fit the theme and trying to make it fit nearly broke my brain. I've been ripping out all the seams and rewriting it properly. I've got my fingers crossed that it'll be ready for the first anthology of 2016. So far it's had more names than Liz Taylor. At the moment I'm thinking of it as The School Teacher and the Rock Star. We'll see if that sticks. As for next year's Naughty Literati releases, we've got some great themes in store for 2016.

I really wanted a story in Naughty Reunions. That is a kickass anthology, as is Naughty Chances which released this month. I'm constantly blown away by the talented writers who make up the Naughty Literati. Sharing a table of contents with any of these authors is a high honor.

I also wrote and sold two stories to Dreamspinner Press this year. Lodestone is an m/m, science fiction paranormal story. I'm dying to get more of Alchemy and Nicholai's story out there. I love the universe and have another story, with different characters, underway, but it's a long one and may not even see submission until sometime next year. My other Dreamspinner release is The Stonemason in the Bare Studs anthology. That was one of those stories that seemed to write itself…while at the same time I sweated blood getting it out. It's also a rare, for me, standalone.

2015 has been a bit of a mixed bag for me. I launched Yet Another Penname (that would be Terry), moved, started three new universes, got bogged down in a story, broke free, sold to a brand new to me market, started ghostwriting (it's so much fun!) and have edited a few terrific novels that I wish I'd written. There have been many ups and downs, but I think the ups outweigh the downs.

I have plans for 2016, and if even half of them come to fruition, I'll have some terrific stories for you.

Hope you all have a lovely holiday season, no matter what you celebrate, or if you celebrate nothing at all.

Keep calm and read!

Terry Rissen

Welcome to My Worlds

@terryrissen

@NaughtyLiterati Turns ONE! To celebrate, enjoy a free #romance #audiobook chapter ~ Happy Listening!

Happy birthday to The Naughty Literati!

It was one year ago this month that a collection of authors from the same publisher met on a Yahoo Group and decided to work together to put out hot and spicy short story anthologies packed full of heart a few times per year.

SO much has happened for all of us since then. Your response has been so gratifying that we're now nearing our sixth (!) boxed set with the upcoming winter collection, Naughty Chances, in December 2015.

Many thanks to our fearless and wise leaders Suz deMello and Marianne Stephens for keeping us naughty writers herded and motivated so that our quills kept scratching parchment to create over the past year (6!) boxed sets that include sixty-five (count 'em, 65!) imaginative, best-selling stories to date.

In my "other life" I work in the entertainment industry and, among other things, I produce and narrate audiobooks for Audible. So for the one year anniversary of our very first boxed set, Naughty List (see the trailer and get all the stories in Naughty List now for only .99!)...

WATCH NOW

... I'm recording all my Naughty Literary short stories into one audiobook on Audible, starting with my very first one, How the Alien Stole Christmas.

LISTEN NOW

Please enjoy the first audio chapter above now... and look for the entire recording of all my Naughty Literati stories ~ AlienSeductions: How the Alien Stole Christmas, Valentime, Blood Mates: How toBlackmail a Vampire, and Pack Masters: The Bermuda Love Triangle ~  in December on Audible in my upcoming collection Absolutely Alpha. I'll be giving away FREE copies of the audiobook over on my blog when it's out, so stay tuned to WIN!

And to our readers, thank you! You inspire us in so many ways and we've appreciated hearing from you over the past year.  Remember...

XO, 

Belle Scarlett

Excerpt from Moon Dance by Terry Rissen

Part of the Naughty Escapes Boxed-set – Available July 1st

Blurb: Christina and Will’s honeymoon in Berlin turns potentially deadly as dark forces seek retribution for Will’s past life actions. Can Christina save her beloved?
Paranormal

Click here to pre-order on Amazon http://goo.gl/AxvZnH

Copyright © Terry Rissen, 2015

Christina woke slowly. It took her a few moments to realize she wasn’t at home and then a few more to remember where she was. That woke her fast. She grinned with excitement and nearly jumped out of bed until she looked at her husband. Husband! That was going to take some getting used to, but she was willing to spend the rest of her life if that’s what it took. Will was still sleeping deeply at her side and her grin softened to a fond smile as she watched him. She debated waking him then decided against it. He’d grown so much since they met. The boy who wanted to make love on the wing over the ocean had given way to the man who watched over her so carefully.

In a way it galled her because she was Protector born and bred. It was her duty to Protect her husband—her Prince, but that was going to be an uphill battle. For now, at least she could do something for him.

Christina eased herself out of bed, then gathered a few items from her suitcase before heading into the bathroom. She was glad they’d been able to get into one of the newer American hotels. She thought she’d heard someone say the hotel was booked solid when they checked in. Odds were, their rooms had been conveniently available when the reservation had been made. She didn’t want to be traipsing down the hall to use a communal bathroom as she’d heard many European hotels forced guests to do. They’d both have spent every moment watching their backs.

She showered, dressed and then checked on Will again. She’d half hoped he’d’ve awakened while she was in the shower, but no such luck. He was still sleeping, though he’d rolled over to her side of the bed, clutching her pillow. For such a strong, powerful man, he could be such a sap. It was, as she told him, part of his charm.

Christina wanted to let him sleep, but he needed to eat, too. She called room service and ordered a meal brought to them in an hour. She had an excellent idea of how to wake her new husband. No matter how much work he had to do while they were in Europe, it was their honeymoon as well.

The clothes she’d just put on, ended up draped on a chair and then Christina pried her pillow out of Will’s sleepy grasp. He muttered a protest then rolled onto his back, settling back into sleep. Christina grinned then slipped back into bed next to him. There was one thing that was certain to wake him.

She nuzzled Will’s neck, breathing in his musky scent. He turned toward her in his sleep and settled again. It had taken weeks of sleeping together before Will had been able to sleep with her so close to him. He had always been on high alert, but gradually he seemed to have accepted her into what his unconscious mind sensed as safe. Christina had felt almost as honored by that as she had by his proposal. Some days she felt more honored. Will never talked about his childhood, but his mom had mentioned a few things to her new daughter-in-law and Charles, the Prince’s Moarte had filled her in on things he felt the Prince’s Consort needed to know.

Christina had never been someone’s safe place before. She vowed to never do anything to abuse her beloved’s trust. While that did limit her options on waking her husband, it didn’t eliminate them. She snuggled in against him and began to kiss his neck. As her hand lightly stroked his chest she was rewarded by a sleepy groan. She nibbled on his earlobe as her hand drifted down to his belly. A sharp nip caused him to gasp and then he muttered her name.

“I’m here, Will,” she whispered in his ear.

Excerpt from Blue Plate Special by Terry Rissen

Part of the Naughty Flings boxed set - Available May 15^th

Blurb: William’s life is shrouded in secrets. Things start looking up when he meets a vivacious girl at a diner; a girl with almost as many secrets as he has.
Paranormal

Copyright © Terry Rissen, 2015

“Can I get you something?”

The girl’s voice jolted Will out of his examination of the veteran at the other end of the counter and he swiveled toward her. He looked into her eyes and was caught. Still open from his examination, she hit him hard.

He’d seen her beauty when he’d walked in, but that had been an overall, almost abstract assessment. Now he was faced with rich brown eyes that somehow emphasized the deep red highlights in her hair. Her eyes warmed him. Her smile bespoke of a gentle soul, but the twinkle in her eye told of a mischievous side. He felt as if he had known this stranger forever. Memories stretched back beyond his birth. Lifetimes spent together, or spent longing for someone he’d never met.

He started to speak but then stopped, smiled a little and ducked his head. Will berated himself for his shyness. When she laughed, not unkindly, he thought he heard the rustle of wings and music. God, the music he heard in his mind when she laughed—it was incredible. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to reproduce it, but then he wasn’t sure he wanted anyone else to hear it. Anyone else but her.

Will floundered for something to say. This girl wasn’t the kind he was used to running into. The girls at Berklee didn’t give him a second look. His clothes were too threadbare and his eyes too old. Scholarship boys didn’t hold their interest. The other girls he ran into, the ones in the clubs he played, weren’t interested in anything more than a good time with a guy who might be famous one day. Will wasn’t above taking advantage of that sometimes. He tried to be nice to them, but they didn’t mean anything but a good time to him. Some of the guys didn’t seem to care even that much.

But this was different. Her name tag was twisted under her collar so he couldn’t read it. He caught himself before he reached out to straighten it. He wondered if she felt the same connection he did.

She didn’t seem to care about what he had or who he might be one day. When she looked at him, he felt as if she saw him and what she saw was good enough for her.

Did she see all of him? Did she see what the other girls didn’t? What he kept so deeply hidden out here in the ordinary world? And was that what she was after?

Will’s heart sank a little at the thought, but then she dropped a menu in front of him and smiled that warm, honest smile of hers. “Why don’t you take a look and I’ll come back in a few minutes?”

“Promise?” Will hoped he sounded teasing and not insecure. He wanted to tease her, to flirt with her, but he was very insecure. What if she wasn’t drawn to him? What if he was just another guy to her? He didn’t quite know how to talk to nice girls and some instinct told him she was the nicest girl he’d ever met.

And the most important.

“Cross my heart and hope to die,” she said, making a crossing motion over her heart. Will grabbed her hand to stop her in the middle of it and she tensed.

“Don’t say that,” he said and then realized he might have just messed up. Her smile was gone and he wanted it back. “I mean, that’s a terrible thing to say. Never hope to die, okay?” He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb and then released her. Damnit! No chance she’d want to talk to him now.

“I never thought about it, but you’re right,” she said, a little smile peeking out as if a little mouse was checking to see if the mean dog was gone. He stared into her eyes and something in him fell into place. As if a gear had been out of kilter and had finally settled in among its fellows. How had he lived this long without her at his side?

“The blue plate tonight is good,” she said, holding his gaze. She quickly licked her lips then continued, “I hope you like meatloaf.”

“I’ll take it.” Will would have eaten anything she offered.

What's in a Pen Name?

I’m going to let you in on a little secret: I’m new to romance writing. I started selling fiction around the turn of the century. Fantasy and science fiction mostly, with a bit of non-fiction tossed in for seasoning. The question of pennames is one most writers I know have at least thought about.

There are more reasons for pennames than there are writers who use them. Some day jobs might object. Sometimes families might have a problem with what a son or daughter or mother or father writes. Knowing my family as I do I know it would be less that they’d be horrified by what I write and more than everyone would decide they know best and I’d never have a moment’s peace. Sometimes a writer just wants the privacy of keeping her real name separate from her writing life.

The biggest reason for pen names is marketing. The first is very simple: how does your name look on a book cover? Some names are too long to fit in a readable font. Some feel jarring for a particular genre. For years, women have written under male names to get published in science fiction (James Tiptree anyone?). And yes, men have written under women’s names to get published in romance. Dean Knootz wrote gothic romance as Deanna Dwyer. Marketing can be to the reader…or to the publisher. For such a seemingly small thing, a pen name can make a huge difference.

For those of us who write in different genres, a pen name, or names, let readers know what they’re getting. The late Barbara Mertz wrote non-fiction books on Ancient Egypt under her real name, but most of us knew her best as either Elizabeth Peters or Barbara Michaels. Or both. In her case, her publisher made the decision for her to use pen names to keep her fiction and non-fiction separate. But in these Wild West days of indie writing, more and more authors are making that decision themselves.

Terry Rissen is my latest pen name and one I hope to be using for a long time. The story I have coming out in the upcoming Naughty Flings anthology (May 15, 2015) is more than just an urban fantasy story of a young man and young woman finding each other on a night in 1969, but it’s the debut of a universe I’ve been living with for close to a year now. Blue Plate Special introduces characters I created for my novel Phoenix. It still has a rewrite or two in its future, and I can’t guarantee the title won’t change (again) before I send it out into the world. While Phoenix is light on romance, it’s heavy on character with a little end of the world action tossed in for good measure.

I’m doing something very different with this pen name. I’m not limiting my genres. In addition to Blue Plate Special’s urban fantasy, I’ve got Lodestone, a male/male science fiction paranormal romance adventure story in space coming out in June from Dreamspinner. I keep thinking I should have had horses so I could add western to the mix. Rainmaker is currently being written in the Lodestone universe, but with completely different characters. I have no idea how long it’ll be, I just hope Dreamspinner likes it as much as I do. Then there’s The Glass Spinner’s Tale, which is in rewrites. It’s a male/male steampunkesque fantasy with an almost Regency sensibility which doesn’t have a home yet and might end up going out as an Indie title.

I always swore I’d never juggle universes like this, but it’s turning out to be more fun than I ever imagined. I hope you all enjoy reading my work as much as I enjoy writing it.

Keep calm and read!

For now, you can connect with me on Twitter @terryrissen. I hope to have my own blog up and running before too long. When it is, the link will be posted on Twitter and appended here to future posts.